Comments

1. Ms. Four wrote:

   Seems a bit silly to snark on Longoria for People misspelling something she said rather than wrote. Faya, as I read it, is pronounced like “fea.”

   But I think I’m missing some Longoria-hating context here. I don’t know enough about her to know her reputation amongst the Latina/o community or blogosphere.

   Posted 19 May 2008 at 6:37 am ¶

2. dcase wrote:

   With respect to her family’s Spanish, I would have to imagine that the interviewer wrote down what Eva Longoria said rather than Longoria writing it or mispronouncing herself. Moreover, I have heard about this (mis)treatment by her family in earlier interviews done by her. It is amazing that she continues to retell this story: is it because she wants pity for being considered “dark and ugly” by her family or somehow rub her success in spite of her “darkness” in the face of her blonde and blue-eyed sisters? Also, this anecdote is from a woman who, upon being engaged to Tony Parker, feared telling her grandmother that he was black. Clearly, this signals some indication of the temperament with regards to color and race of at least some her family members. I think it is surprising that she would broadcast this in public.

   Posted 19 May 2008 at 8:06 am ¶

3. eastsidekate wrote:

   Bad Spanish or not, it’s simply not a “fun fact.” It’s a little known fact that says a lot, but it’s depressing– not fun at all.

   Posted 19 May 2008 at 9:20 am ¶

4. Jorge wrote:

   My grandmother had a similar issue with her family. They’re from Cd. Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico. She was the (relatively) darker one among her sisters. Beauty wise, this made her feel a bit inferior to her older, whiter, sisters. Unfortunately, it turned into a big issue with her for the rest of her life.

   The word “prieta” is a pejorative, at least the ways I’ve heard it used. It is like calling someone ugly AND dark skinned. Moreno/a with a bite, I guess.

   Posted 19 May 2008 at 9:25 am ¶

5. Lyonside wrote:

   >Also, this anecdote is from a woman who, upon being engaged to Tony Parker, feared telling her grandmother that he was black. Clearly, this signals some indication of the temperament with regards to color and race of at least some her family members. I think it is surprising that she would broadcast this in public.

   Dcase: if true (not saying it isn’t, just that I severely distrust anything published in a pop culture magazine or gossip rag), this is a great example of unconscious/subconscious internalized racism. It’s not surprising that she’s mention it as a cute little family story to trot out for interviews, (not to mention one that makes her look humble in regards to how people consider her attractiveness currently) if she hasn’t had motivation or inspiration to start breaking down the cultural contexts.

   Posted 19 May 2008 at 11:16 am ¶

6. Lyonside wrote:

   >My grandmother had a similar issue with her family.

   My MIL too, Jorge – she was criticized when she first married my FIL by his entire family, for being too dark (um, by like 1 shade, it’s barely perceptable to me). What made it worse is that my FIL’s family was all in the States, and pushing towards assimilation, and my MIL’s family was all still in PR, so there was no tangible support from her family.

   She’s STILL insecure about her place with her inlaws, 40+ years later. I’m not sure how much of that is the inlaws, and how much of that is what she has internalized from US mainland racism and earlier experiences in PR.

   Posted 19 May 2008 at 11:21 am ¶

7. rhondamarie wrote:

   i’m not on the longoria-hate bandwagon, but i agree that more than the misspelling, the fact that this is listed as a “fun fact” is crazy.

   isn’t that funny people? she’s not so DARK and/or UGLY anymore!

   Posted 19 May 2008 at 12:15 pm ¶

8. Kirk wrote:

   I’m still new to the Blogosphrere; when you guys put out a crossed -out word, are you trying to facetious , or what? I agree with Ms. Four ; I think the writer mispronounced the word. Is Eva Longoria looked as someone who’s sold out by Latinos?

   Posted 19 May 2008 at 12:20 pm ¶

9. Tk wrote:

   Hey Lyonside,

   That quote was from an interview Eva Longoria did with Allure magazine when she was the cover subject. It’s from a year or two ago, and I remember it well because I was really taken aback by it. She also said that she tried to cover for Tony Parker by saying that he was really French, not black. From the Allure interview and other things she’s said in public, I get a sense that she’s not aware of the meaning behind her words. Just wanted to give you some context!

   Posted 19 May 2008 at 12:26 pm ¶

10. Dani wrote:

    Tk:

    “From the Allure interview and other things she’s said in public, I get a sense that she’s not aware of the meaning behind her words.”

    I’ve noticed that about her too…

    Posted 19 May 2008 at 1:15 pm ¶

11. dcase wrote:

    Thanks, Tk for the correct reference…I had read that in a secondary source some time ago and recalled this morning when reading this post.

    Posted 19 May 2008 at 1:46 pm ¶

12. Bohemian Writer wrote:

    I wonder what she will do when she has “prieta, faya” kids. smh.

    Posted 19 May 2008 at 5:03 pm ¶

13. gorgeous black women wrote:

    When people bring such things up over and over again, and with not a drop of sadness in their voice generally, it’s clearly one of those things that has a lot to do with who she is today. She’s saying that she went from the ugly duckling in her family to being considered beautiful by the world. I’m sure she still sees herself as “la prieta fea” to some degree today.

    Also, her comments about hiding her husband’s race from her grandmother led me to believe that they did a number on her sense of self and she probably doesn’t realize it.

    Posted 19 May 2008 at 5:30 pm ¶

14. ivy wrote:

    If you use an english pronunciation “faya” sounds exactly like “fea.” But using a spanish pronunciation it would rhyme with “high-yuh” which is what tripped me up at first. But anyway…

    I could definitely empathize if Eva really was scared to tell her family Tony is black. No matter how anti-racist you might be, you can’t really control your family’s behavior. And even though I’m an adult now, I still find it a bit hard to disagree with my parents/grandparents. And I was also the ugly dark one in my family…it definitely isn’t “fun”

    Posted 19 May 2008 at 5:30 pm ¶

15. Ric Reyes wrote:

    I’m from Mexico and “fea” and “feo” sometimes gets distorted into “feyo” and “feya”, Maybe that’s what Longoria’s family used in the first place.

    Not really trying to justify nothing, it just came up. You gotta remember that inmigrants sometimes aren’t the better educated people and sometime use many deformed words, and funnily those are the ones that appear the most on USA’s media portrayal of latinos.

    Posted 19 May 2008 at 6:26 pm ¶

16. wendimuse wrote:

    seriously, i think eva longoria makes this comment on every friggin single interview she does…and quite frankly, she leaves it raw and open for the viewers, especially those who don´t know jack about colorism in the latino community…
    just another reason why i cannot stand her

    Posted 19 May 2008 at 7:43 pm ¶

17. Manju wrote:

    waht did Eva Longoria do to deserve the retroacculturated label? raquel welch, i can see, but longoria’s only been around for a short time. did she say she was italian-american or something when she first started out?

    also, regarding her grandmother, sounds like she’s just being honest. in the real world, people often talk bluntly and without qualifiers, and that can be quite jarring if you spend a lot of time on anti-racism blogs. i don’t necessarily see it as a sign of “internalized racism” as much as i see it as a sign that she didn’t have the privilege of taking critical race or ethnic studies courses in college.

    Posted 19 May 2008 at 8:20 pm ¶

18. ugh wrote:

    Okay, Eva Longoria’s family has been living in Texas for many generations. She is not “Mexican” or an immigrant, I doubt anyone in her family is very fluent in Spanish. We at racialicious should know that Americans come in all colors and ethnicities, right? Why do people jump the gun and assume Eva isn’t American? I mean, you don’t have to be an Eva Longoria fan or anything, and I certainly am not, but see how a lot of you referred to Eva as an immigrant or a child of immigrants just because she has a Spanish surname and is of “Mexican” descent? That’s the same kind of thing ICE likes to pull down on the Southwest, assuming that all brown “Mexican” looking people are not American but actually foreigners.

    And “fea” doesn’t sound like “faya” or “high-yuh” if you pronounce it correctly.

    Posted 19 May 2008 at 10:03 pm ¶

19. Andrea R wrote:

    I have to agree with both “Ugh” and “Manju”. Just because we have a Latino surname, does not automatically make us Mexican, but that also doesn’t mean we hate our heritage either. I also don’t understand the animosity toward celebrities like Eva Longoria and Jessica Alba, but usually, I’m in the minority. I think a lot of their quotes get misinterpreted, to be honest. I am not going to go into it, but it just seems damned if you do, damned if you don’t.
    And yeah, I too was called Prieta. I was also called Naca, (which is kind of the equivalent of “trashy indian” ) when I wore two braids in my hair. And what did I do? Wear braids in my hair until my mom and dad agreed that it was NOT a nice word to use. As in a previous post, many of these Latino nicknames or phrases are used for humor, but I did not appreciate it and i let it known to my parents that it was unacceptable. And it’s crazy too because my parents are the nicest people . . . they were just using the word because that’s what their culture did, its a kind of “poke fun” type thing to do, but when I explained to them what it means, much like saying something is “gay” or one got “gyped”, they stopped. So, education and communication works.

    Posted 20 May 2008 at 3:44 pm ¶

20. Whitney wrote:

    I know how she feels. My older brother and younger sister both have gorgeous red hair, and have light skin, and I am in the middle, dark olive skin, and dark brown hair. I was even called the “little darkie” by some of my family members, and I am by far the darkest one out of every single relative I have. I just look so different and no one really commented on me being pretty, but rather they did comment on my brother’s and sister’s gorgeous hair.

    My sister has since dyed her hair dark brown and fakes and bakes, so we look a little more alike, but it’s still something I’ll never forget. And because of that, I never really felt a part of the family, since many people joked that my mom had an affair or that I was adopted.

    I think that what it all boils down to is that these words can really hurt and it stays with you forever.

    And the funny thing is, is that people always assume that these kinds of words are only being said to nonwhites, but I can tell you, it happens in white families all of the time. It happened to me and still happens to me.

    Posted 21 May 2008 at 6:02 am ¶

21. Nina wrote:

    Why is she the problem? It HURTS to be the ugly one. Halle Berry talks ALLLL the time about how hard it was for her looking different. Imagine how much harder it was for Eva because she was WITHIN Her family and not getting any positive feedback, at least Halle’s mom tried to make her feel beautiful.

    People often say these things as a way to say “I cant believe how far I’ve come”. People who lived in trailer parks wearing donated clothes will often mention that after they become a millionaire. People lauded for their beauty often find it weird after a childhood of being The Ugly One.

    She’s saying she was The Ugly One, Eva La Fea and that all this adulation and admiration just amazes her because its not consistent with her self image.

    Posted 22 May 2008 at 11:09 am ¶